Dino Myers-Lamptey, managing director at MullenLowe Mediahub
2018 proved to be a disruptive year in the media market, as every media channel continued to deal with the impacts of digital transformation, and an increasingly global media economy. The stability of commercial radio makes it a relative success story.
Listeners are still listening and, most importantly, still desire the contact of live radio, and real presenters. This is all despite the continued success and rise of podcasts, which are only growing in strength.
For brands, radio is becoming more accessible and more versatile, which points to the biggest news story which was Global Radio’s diversification into the outdoor market.
For a while, radio has been telling us how it complements other media (and in particular outdoor) where most listening happens, and this connection has well and truly cemented itself with Global’s acquisitions of Primesight, Exterion and Outdoor Plus, which even outshone the very astute acquisition of leanStream.
While the pace and breadth of activity was certainly surprising, it is a testament to the confidence and stability that commercial radio is experiencing, despite the predicted impact of the subscription audio challengers. Commercial radio may give some clues about how other media channels should approach their respective battles and lauded challengers.
Celine Saturnino, chief commerical officer, Total Media
Audio continues to be a unique opportunity to engage with consumers and develop a deeper emotional connection through voice in often less interruptive environments than other media.
Advertisers we work with are forecasting significant growth in audio as a result of this and the creative/media opportunities afforded by the shift in listening to digital devices.
The Rajar results reflect these key trends in consumer behaviour as consumers continue to adopt more advanced listening technology, be that in the home, in-car or personal mobile devices.
Although radio is often not considered in the traditional influencer space, the opportunities for advertisers to benefit from the trust radio presenters have with local communities has also proven to deliver effective business results for advertisers.
All in all we are expecting a positive year for audio and are excited to see what further innovations digitisation of the channel will bring.
